The one variable that is new this season, well sort of, is the head coach. Maloni Doty has stepped into the head coaching position. She has been involved in the Florence volleyball program for 15 years as an assistant coach. So when the position came open, there was hardly a ripple in the program when Doty took over.
The team plays a lot of club ball in the spring and summer and that familiarity shows. Seniors Rylie Hawkins, Sabrina Hopcroft, Abbey Ostheimer, Natalie Drozdz, Jessica Dufresne, and Kezia Misipeka-Ward form a strong core of players who Doty says she’s known since they “were babies in the gym. They are truly friends on and off the court and that closeness really helps them as a team.”
Sabrina Hopcroft is a strong outside hitter and will find the open spot on the court to put the ball down in. Megan Kowalski, at 6’1 is another power hitter and blocker. With her long reach and jumping ability, it’s hard to get a ball past her. Mispeka-Ward is quiet but strong on the outside and can hit across the court very well. Dufresne is another strong blocker. Hawkins is very accurate with her sets and confident in her teammates. She’s also pretty good at serving up aces. The coach’s daughters, Hunter Doty DiBrito and Hudsyn Doty DiBrito, a junior and sophomore, add experience in the back row. Hunter is the Libero and gets the majority of digs. Autumn Round, another outside hitter, is a junior with a lot of athletic ability. Rounding out the varsity are Drozdz and Ostheimer, defensive specialists, and Shay Waldbillig, another setter. With the experience this team has, it’s little wonder they haven’t lost a match, and have defeated all of their conference opponents in three games, except for Anaconda where it took four games to win the match.
Florence defeated Mission, 25-16, 25-14, 25-13, on Friday night. Hopcroft had 8 of the Lady Falcons’ 27 kills. There was one block. Florence had 40 digs with Hunter Doty digging up 14 of them. Hawkins had 25 of the 27 assists and she also had four aces to lead the team.
Hamilton split their matches this week, topping Stevensville in three games and then dropping their match on Saturday to Butte Central. Stevensville lost a close match to Dillon and Darby fell to Seeley Swan. Victor lost to Philipsburg and Valley Christian.
Hamilton def. Stevensville, 25-19, 25-16, 26-24.
Kills – Stevensville 24 (Mariah Hinson 9), Hamilton 36 (Shannon Casale 12). Blocks – Stevensville 1, Hamilton 3 (Caitlin Gillespie 2). Digs – Stevensville 44 (Abigail Austin 14), Hamilton 65 (Kloie Nye 21). Assists – Stevensville 21 (Quinn Larson 18), Hamilton 35 (Caitlin Dillon 31). Aces – Stevensville 5 (Rylee McCoy 3),
Butte Central def. Hamilton 25-21, 25-9, 25-17.
Kills – Hamilton 31 (Tristy Searle 11). Blocks – Hamilton 2 (Caitlin Gillespie 1). Digs – Hamilton 53 (Kloie Nye 15). Assists – Hamilton 29 (Caitlin Dillon 23). Aces – Hamilton 2 (Kloie Nye, Brooke Huxtable).
Dillon def. Stevensville, 29-27, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20.
Kills – Stevensville 37 (Victoria Scothorn 13). Blocks – Stevensville 4 (Angel Richards 2). Digs – Stevensville 57 (Mariah Hinson 10). Assists – Stevensville 29 (Quinn Larson 28), Dillon. Aces – Stevensville 6 (Rylee McCoy 3).
Seeley-Swan def. Darby, 25-16, 25-15, 25-17
Kills – Seeley-Swan 27, Darby 22 (Brianna Brickey 9). Blocks – Seeley-Swan 1 Darby 0. Digs – Seeley-Swan 46, Darby 10. Assists – Seeley-Swan 19, Darby 10 (Sierra Keating). Aces – Seeley-Swan 8, Darby 2 (Two with 1).
Philipsburg def. Victor, 25-12, 25-19, 10-25, 25-15.
Kills – Philipsburg 16, Victor 31 (Jamie Burdett 11). Blocks – Philipsburg 1, Victor 6 (Krissy Kuettel 3). Digs – Philipsburg 48, Victor 43 (Ali Elliott 12). Assists – Philipsburg 16, Victor 22 (Elliott 19). Aces –Philipsburg 22, Victor 8 (Summer Lee 3).
